Mystic Asset Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Key Points

• Mystic Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 6.7% during the first quarter, purchasing an additional 1,791 shares, bringing its total holdings to 28,454 shares valued at $4.4 million.
• A recent analysis shows strong support for Alphabet, as analysts upgraded their price targets for the stock, with some firms giving it a "buy" or "outperform" rating.
• Alphabet has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, set to be paid on September 15, which translates to an annual yield of 0.43%.

Mystic Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Free Report) by 6.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,454 shares of the information services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,791 shares during the quarter. Alphabet comprises about 1.2% of Mystic Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Mystic Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Alphabet were worth $4,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the first quarter worth $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.03% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Alphabet

In other Alphabet news, Director Kavitark Ram Shriram sold 18,566 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.76, for a total value of $3,448,820.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 243,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,213,984. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.38, for a total transaction of $5,992,350.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,527,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $466,000,536.96. The trade was a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 249,409 shares of company stock worth $43,523,710. Insiders own 11.64% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Price Performance

NASDAQ GOOGL traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $193.18. 39,738,342 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 41,427,228. Alphabet Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.53 and a 52-week high of $207.05. The company has a market capitalization of $2.34 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.57, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The firm's 50-day moving average is $175.77 and its 200-day moving average is $172.93.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The information services provider reported $2.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.79. Alphabet had a net margin of 31.12% and a return on equity of 34.31%. The business had revenue of $76.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Alphabet's payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $208.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $203.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Westpark Capital lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Alphabet from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.32.

About Alphabet

Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.